Ask anyone out there to name the most famous tennis players and the tournaments they’re associated most with and you will likely get a combination of Andy Murray and Wimbledon will arise. The Scotsman famously took victory on the English lawns some years ago but, since then, a fair number of challengers have come along and look to threaten Murray and his older colleagues.
One of the first major things to note is that, since Murray’s last Wimbledon victory in 2016, the landscape of tennis has certainly changed a little. As is the case with other major sports, a new generation of starlets in the tennis world are entering the mainstream fold, and some have even tasted Wimbledon success. Daniil Medvedev has been hotly tipped to make an impact at the upcoming Grand Slams, and the same goes for Dominic Thiem too.
Both players have made quite the impression at tennis’ top level with the likes of Medvedev having reached the final of both the US and Australian Open in recent years. Moreover, the decorated Canadian Milos Raonic could be a threat to Murray, especially given he’s taken Wimbledon silver before, five years ago against the Scot. Recent years have seen him rocket back into tennis’ top 20 in the ATP rankings, which means he should be one of the first players on Murray’s radar in 2021.
However, as much as young starlets such as Medvedev and Thiem could undoubtedly mount a challenge against the established Scotsman, those veterans such as Novak Djokovic, the Swiss Roger Federer and world number two Rafael Nadal can certainly not be discounted. The three of them have fifteen Wimbledon titles between them with most of those falling at the hands of Federer with eight and Djokovic with five. In other Grand Slam tournaments, Murray has seen some successes against the Big Three, as they’re known, but since 2017, he has fallen off the pace a little. Many might hope this can change with matches on home soil at Wimbledon this year.
Given the fact that Andy Murray’s tennis career has been plagued with injuries in the last couple years, it should come as little surprise that he isn’t necessarily the frontrunner for a third Wimbledon title. Since winning the tournament some five years ago back in 2016, Murray has fallen off the pace a little, and this is reflected in his position in the bookies’ odds for both Wimbledon and other upcoming tournaments.
The likes of bet365 have the Scotsman as 25/1 to win in London, whilst there’s a sea of other players who are tipped with shorter odds to take victory on the infamous tennis lawns. For example, the Serbian tennis master Novak Djokovic has been tipped as the favourite with odds of 11/8, and other veterans such as Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon winner, close behind at 13/2.
There’s certainly plenty of players out there who could threaten Andy Murray’s position at the upcoming Wimbledon tournament. By way of both tennis veterans and some young starlets, there looks to be a queue forming for who could be the man to break British hearts at this year’s edition, but it’s always possible that Murray could pull it out the bag for a third time.
